BofA digital engagement surges: The US-based bank disclosed that users are turning to digital channels more frequently, even as adoption slows. With adoption now approaching saturation, engagement will become the next frontier for banks.

Digital account opening is on the rise after a pandemic slump.

Digital banking channels are enjoying supercharged momentum as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. US consumers’ banking behavior will continue to evolve through 2024, spurring banks to satisfy customer demands in both legacy and digital channels.

The pandemic led to many upward revisions of our UK digital user forecasts. Some changes (podcast listeners) will be permanent, while others will be temporary (digital gamers). Our social network user numbers, meanwhile, didn’t change much at all.

The pandemic is pushing consumers into digital banking channels, upping pressure on small and midsized banks to deliver value-added services and digital user experiences. They have to find ways of doing so on limited tech budgets to stay competitive.

Gen Xers have taken a hit from the pandemic. But in midcareer and with bigger-than-average households, they remain too important a cohort for marketers to ignore. Thus, it’s essential see how their finances, shopping behavior, and digital usage shape up amid the pandemic.

Global insurers have been rocked by large, unexpected payouts and falling revenues amid the coronavirus pandemic. Yet, P&C and life insurers in leading markets will still increase their tech spend and accelerate their digital transformations in the next several years to enhance the online user experience.

Hispanic consumers have endured exceptional financial volatility—mostly bad—during the pandemic. Even in normal times, this population is a moving target, with its diverse components evolving in financial strength, degrees of acculturation, and digital engagement.

On today's episode, we discuss whether augmented reality is the future of marketing, how Clubhouse launching on Android can help the social audio platform grow its user base, how much the pandemic changed boomers' online behavior, whether "buy now, pay later" can move beyond retail, how to help people find something to watch on Netflix, how to swim up in the sky, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer analysts Nina Goetzen and Daniel Keyes, and principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Jeremy Goldman.

Bank of America’s digital channels and technologies such as Erica saw a significant rise in customer usage in Q1 2021—and the bank could augment the heightened interaction by providing more access to human representatives.